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US Army’s CECOM Publishes
Tender for up to 150,000 Zinc-Air Batteries
on a Sole-Source Basis
Arotech’s Electric Fuel Subsidiary
Only Company Specifically Named as
Proposed Sole Source
November 17, 2003 - Arotech
Corporation (NasdaqNM: ARTX) announced today that the US Army’s
Communications and Electronic Command (CECOM) has published its intention
to sole source up to 150,000 zinc-air batteries, consisting of a mixture
of BA-8180/U and BA-81XX batteries, and up to 41,000 associated interface
adapters over the next three years. CECOM intends to solicit on a sole
source basis under 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source,
for a three-year, Firm Fixed Price, Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite
Quantity contract. The published tender names Arotech’s Electric
Fuel Battery subsidiary as the proposed sole source. No other company
is named.
The solicitation states that Electric
Fuel is the only source that has designed and produced zinc-air batteries
and interface adapters that meet the Government's requirements. It is
also the only source with an operational production line for the batteries
and adapters that meet Government requirements. The first orders for
batteries and adapters could come as soon as early next year.
Electric Fuel’s BA-8180/U zinc-air battery
is a 12/24 Volt, 800 Watt-hour, non-rechargeable battery pack, approximately
the size and weight of a notebook computer. The battery is based on
lightweight, 30 ampere-hours cells developed by Electric Fuel over the
last 5 years with partial funding by CECOM. In extensive field-testing,
the BA-8180/U battery typically provided 4 to 6 times the run time of
a BA-5590, a primary lithium battery pack widely used in the military.
Zinc-air batteries are considerably safer in combat situations and more
environmentally friendly than lithium batteries.
“Our lightweight, low-cost primary zinc-air
batteries have up to twice the energy capacity per pound of primary
lithium battery packs, and are inherently safe in storage, transportation,
use, and disposal,” said Robert S. Ehrlich, Arotech Chairman and
CEO. “The publication of this tender demonstrates that the value
that the Army places on the advantages that zinc-air technology can
bring to bear on mission-critical applications. “The fact that
we alone were named as the proposed sole source gives us great cause
for optimism,” concluded Ehrlich.
About Arotech Corporation
Arotech's corporate mission is to
provide quality defense and security products for the military, law
enforcement and homeland security markets, including advanced zinc-air
batteries, multimedia interactive simulators/trainers and lightweight
armoring.
Arotech Corporation (www.arotech.com)
operates two business divisions: Electric Fuel Batteries — developing
and manufacturing zinc-air batteries for military and homeland security
applications and developing electric vehicle batteries for zero emission
public transportation; and Arotech Defense — consisting of IES
Interactive, which provides advanced high-tech multimedia training systems
for law enforcement and paramilitary organizations, MDT Armor, which
provides vehicle armoring for the military, industrial and private sectors,
and Arocon Security, which provides homeland security consulting and
other services.
Arotech is incorporated in Delaware
and has corporate and sales offices in New York and Denver with research,
development and production subsidiaries in Alabama, Colorado and Israel.
Except for the historical information
herein, the matters discussed in this news release include forward-looking
statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, as they are subject to various risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary significantly. These
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks relating
to: product and technology development; the uncertainty of the market
for Arotech’s products; changing economic conditions; delay, cancellation
or non-renewal, in whole or in part, of contracts or of purchase orders;
significant future capital requirements; the outcome of the claims made
by the I.E.S. Group; and other risk factors detailed in Arotech’s
most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2002 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Arotech assumes no obligation to update the information in this release.
Reference to the Company’s website above does not constitute incorporation
of any of the information thereon into this press release.
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